Day 11: Sacrifice, Jesus, and Cheez-Its

The thought came via Cheez-It.

I have learned so much more through this process than I ever could have expected. Laura and I still have a long way to go, but already I see certain themes come up again and again.

One of those themes is sacrifice: its true depth and meaning.

I thought of this sort of sacrifice yesterday partly though Cheez-Its. I don't know why, but I have been craving them intensely ever since we since we started eating on a dollar a day. I can't afford them, but I want them. Just one Cheez-It is tantalizingly cheesy.


Then I wondered:

If I had never known its goodness,
would it be so hard to give it up?

I think sometimes this dollar-a-day process has been so tough because I know what it's like to be able to eat whatever I want, whenever I want. And now I can't. I had to surrender that ability. This is the meaning of true sacrifice.

I realized this is exactly what Jesus did. I see it in Philippians 2: Jesus is a king; he made himself a servant. Jesus is God of the universe; he made himself a human. Jesus is immortal; he made himself to be crucified. Jesus is everything; he made himself nothing.

Jesus knows full glory, yet he gave it up for a time to live and die on earth for me. Wow.

Jesus was human but he is also God, so I'm sure his stomach didn't quite groan for glory in the same way my stomach groans for Cheez-Its. Still, I think it's safe to say that it was no walk in the park. It was, after all, a sacrifice.

I mean no disrespect in the comparison, but just as Jesus reigns in glory again, I will one day see those Cheez-Its again.

I look forward to that day.